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Jab We Met (2007)

Of course she is, and it’s been universally noted that she is especially winsome in this film too! Yes, I have finally seen Jab We Met and like everyone else I enjoyed it very much. I don’t usually review films that have already been reviewed to death, and of course nobody needs a synopsis by now, but I feel compelled to share the things that really caught my eye. Although possibly it will only illustrate how easily distracted I am from the actual important stuff, like plot and theme.

1. The “folk art” special effects:

What the hell? Did they run out of money at the end and then realize they needed these scenes?

Don’t worry Mr. Cab Driver! You can buy a new one over at Toys-R-Us!

2. I loved this bit of station-master philosophizing:

Geet did too, at least she regurgitated it at home later. I may use it myself next time I’m travelling alone.

3. It’s possible I may have stayed at the Hotel Decent once by mistake too:

If there were a restaurant there, would it be called the Passable Bar & Grill?

4. I think the world would be a happier place if everyone looked in the mirror every morning and said this:

5. What animal could possibly be tall enough to pee this high up on these snow banks? Do camels lift their legs?

6. “Ye Ishq Hai”: I loved everything about this song and had to watch it a few times before I could move on:

This was shot in Manali.. m sure coz i hv seen d shootin of this song whn we had gn ther 4 vacation. all songs r wow.. i love d songs ‘ Aaoge jab tum sajana’ n ‘Tum se’ for its lyrics.. those r ABSOLUTELY ROMANTIC…

What the Grandfather said about Geet being the top most devil in the family, I think he meant it endearingly. In our family it was said more in the tone of, ‘Oh my God, what have we created?’
Thank you for the complement anyway. :-)

I think Nagada Nagada is my favorite song in the film, but Yeh Ishq Hai is awesome. Actually the entire soundtrack is great. Actually, there isn’t anything I dislike about this movie. I mean, I can’t love the Claymation Fantasia but since it’s at the beginning I can forget it by the end. ;-) Glad you liked it, memsaab–this one is still my favorite Bollywood movie!

Marta it was meant endearingly from us too (most of the time)(I am almost sure). Either way, I think being the topmost devil in one’s family is something to brag about :-)

ajnabi, yes I liked all the songs too, but the way this one was picturized was just beautiful. I would like an explanation of the claymation-Legoland car and train though. It was so random! It’s not like the rest of the film didn’t have good production values.

I’ve not seen the Legoland car and train mentioned anywhere so maybe I’m the only one who did notice them. As I said: I’ll notice things like this and miss the whole point of the film. I’m detail-oriented :-)

I have noticed it from the first time I have seen it. ( and like all movies i love, including KKHH and Chupke chupke(by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, I can now tell you the movie verbatim with actions from a different room). Also in a lot of the shots it seems like the driver of that car has been cut and pasted into that scene. Weird.

Really, really great movie. I haven’t written about it yet because I’m not sure what to say other than SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Utterly charming.

As for the claymation, I’d been warned, and I loved it too. A few of the greenscreens in scenes with moving backgrounds are a little shoddy, like when Shahid is about to jump out of the train; maybe they were just not interested in spending money on solutions to those types of needs. However, my vote, optimistic as it may be, is that they did it to play up the “wacky adventure and everything will work out okay” feeling of the moment and counteract any tension about Shahid’s woes, Kareena not getting her train, etc.

Ah Beth, yes. I noticed the shoddy green screen work too (esp. in the interior taxi scenes at the beginning) but it wasn’t as egregious as the claymation stuff. It didn’t really bother me, perhaps I am too inured to such things by now, but it did seem out of place given the quality of the rest of the film.

And the topmost devil is perfect for a banner! I am going to use it in my everyday language. I’ve already called my niece Hannah the topmost devil in my brother’s family :-) She loved it!

Great post, Memsaab! Agree with #4. And those frames with the train and car look like something Thomas Kinkade would do! And speaking of Lego cars (c’mon, you know they look real!) :P …here’s a picture from Legoland California. It’s a fantastic park, and it was quite all right that it felt like I was the only adult there who was not a parent. Of course, I am still a Lego maniac. :o)

Loved this post and the pictures! LOL. I also liked that “open treasure box” line, and as a women who mostly travels alone, I too thought it might come in handy for an upgrade at a hotel. I have used the “woman alone” to get a room on a higher floor in a hotel a few times when in Mexico, I just never thought to add the open treasure box part, until now. :)

Hahahaha, as someone who’s heard similar versions of the treasure chest line, what sealed the deal for me in that scene was the look on her face when he says that – I’ve worn it so often! And the greenscreen thing made me laugh out loud in the theatre when I saw it but I’ve since come to accept it as part of this movie’s eccentricities.

Anonymous – it was shot in Manali and the jeep scenes were shot in Rohtang Pass.

OK, here comes dissension :) Can’t remember all the sites I’ve said this before, and I seem to have said it a lot…I disliked this movie – and SOLELY because of Kareena. The whole first half, Kareena being Kareena put me off so badly, I couldn’t get past that to appreciate the rest of the movie. Shahid being “patient” made me want to smack him :-)

That said, I did like the small anti-stereotypical touches scattered through the movie…but alas, not enough to get past the K-factor! I think I had huge expectations of this movie after Socha Na Tha..and was badly disappointed…

Scenes Setting:
The snow road is the one to Rohtang Pass, err only it is Past Manali, so how do you use it Get To Manali? hmmm, you could travel from Punjab to Delhi via Leh, that would do it! Probably filmed late May, June when they finally start to clean up the snow.

Yeh Ishq: ooo..thats Naggar Castle (now hotel), one of my favourite places to stay in India. Timber and stone earthquake-proof construction. And Kareena dancing on the balcony where you have your breakfast…
Don’t look for the enormous God statue though, that must have been added for the film. But there is a lovely, almost miniature wood temple in one of the courtyards.

And Anshuman’s pad: hey, those are the Manali log huts where we stayed..in fact the exact one where we stayed, as anyone will tell you no 1 & 2 are the best! Ivy covered bungalows making an L shape…even the swing is there in the garden.

Had heard a lot about this movie but saw it only today.
Loved the movie.

Until now I had not seen much of either Shahid or Kareena but in this movie I was totally floored by both of them !!! Absolutely awesome acting.

The picturisation is very pleasant overall, the dialogues are pretty cute.

In particular I remember this one. When Shahid tells Kareena that he is actually Aditya Kashyap, she says “Tum to badey ameer nikley yaar. Meri behen ke saath bhaag jaao na. Hum sab ki life set ho jaayegi”. (“Wow..you turned out to be one rich guy. Can you please elope with my sis ? All our lives will get set”. That was sooo cute and so hilarious. :-)